The present invention relates to a pole system and more particularly to a modular pole system that is especially well adapted for mounting modular components birding accessories such as feeders, houses, and perches thereon.
For quite sometime, birding has been a very popular hobby. Many people find that watching birds is a pleasant, relaxing, and educational way to spend time and observe nature. Although some bird watching is performed in a nature preserve-like settings, such as at parks and forests, much bird watching also occurs in and around the homes and yards of the bird watchers. To help better attract birds to watch, many people erect various bird attracting devices such as bird houses, feeders and baths. Examples of bird houses, feeders and baths can be found in any number of department stores, hardware stores, or nature stores such as the franchise stores of WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED, INC., one of the Assignees of the instant application. Along with the bird houses, feeders and baths, mounting hardware must be employed in order to place the bird house or bird feeder at a desired location. This mounting hardware can be as simple as a rope or wire that ties the bird attracting device to the branch of a tree; or a plurality of nails that nail a bird house, feeder or bath to either a tree or a wall.
In addition to this above-described simple hardware, more elaborate hardware exists such as mounting brackets and poles onto which a bird attracting device may be hung. Examples of existing, prior art mounting hardware can be found in the following catalogs:
1. ERVA TOOL AND DIE COMPANY, 1998 catalog, produced by the Erva Tool and Die Company of 3100 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, Ill. 60622-4234;
2. THE GREEN ESTEEM(copyright) GARDENING ACCESSORIES, 1999 catalog, produced by Hiatt Manufacturing, Inc. of 4410 Theurer Boulevard, Winona, Minn. 55987 (Website www.greenesteem.com);
3. MARKERS, INC. HOLES xe2x80x98Nxe2x80x99 POLES Family of Yard Products 1998 catalog, produced by Markers, Inc. of 33597 Penn Oak Parkway, Avon Lake, Ohio 44012;
4. THE 1998 BLACKSMITH SERIES CORELINE HANGERS catalog, produced by the Whiskeyville Planters Company of Indiana; and
5. THE HOLSCHER PRODUCTS, INC. 1998 catalog, that is produced by Holscher Products, Inc. of 407 West Main Street, Fowler, Ind. 47944, who is also one of the Assignees of the present invention.
Although a large number of various bird feeder and bird house hangers exist that perform their desired function(s) in a workmanlike manner, room for improvement still exits. In particular, room for improvement exists in producing a hanging system that permits the user to better customize the system to fit the desired application.
One object of the present invention is to provide a device that is modularly constructed to provide the user with extreme flexibility in choosing the configuration of his mounting hardware, so that he or she may better customize the mounting hardware to fit their particular needs and desires, and compliment their preferred bird attracting device.
The present invention relates to a modular pole system that is particularly well adapted for those who enjoy birding by providing a multitude of different modules to allow the birder to custom design her birding pole to include a variety of birding accessories such as bird feeders, bird houses, artificial and natural perches and bird bathes.
The different modules can be classified into three categories for ease of understanding. The first category is pole modules that are used to secure the modular pole system to the ground and/or increase the overall length of the modular pole system. Pole modules can also have accessories, such as shepherd""s hooks, permanently attached to them.
The second category is pole attachment modules. Pole attachment modules are accessories that can be removably attached to pole modules. Examples include bird feeders, suet cages, squirrel baffles, banners or signs and representations of vegetation.
The third category is cap modules. Cap modules are accessories that can be removably attached to pole modules at the top of the pole modules. The main purpose of cap modules is to inhibit rain water from entering the inside of the pole modules. Additionally, the top of the birding pole is a place of distinction and can have a prominent feature placed thereon, such as a bird bath, bird house, bird feeder or statue, or a decorative item.
One feature of the present invention is that it provides a wind-resistant foot system. An auger pole module is used in conjunction with a stabilizing pole attachment module to accomplish this wind resistance. The auger module has a auger member fixedly and spirally secured thereto that facilitates the insertion of the auger module into the ground. Once in the ground, the auger resists the axially directed extraction of the auger module from the ground. The stabilizing module has a plurality of arms for distributing the force from the wind over a wider area to resist radial (tilting) movement of the pole, which helps to keep the modular birding pole from leaning, or from being blown over by the wind.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide an accessory mounting hook, such as a shepherd""s hook, that is welded directly to the main pole of the modular birding pole. This is accomplished by the shepherd""s hook pole module that acts like a pole extension module but has at least one shepherd""s hook welded thereto.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a dish module that allows for the easy extraction and installation of a bird food dish. The dish module of the present invention includes a dish holder member having support rods that hold a dish securely in place. Additionally, the support rods permit the easy extraction and installation of the dish by simply tilting the dish relative to the dish holder.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide an cap module that both inhibits rain water from entering the pole modules and provides a distinctive appearance to the modular pole system. Several cap modules are disclosed that accomplish both tasks.
An additional feature of the present invention is that is provides a bird bath holder for holding a bird bath and allowing the easy extraction of the bird bath for refilling or cleaning. This feature is achieved by a bird bath cap module that contains a bird bath holder. The bird bath holder has a support ring for supporting the periphery of the bird bath and horizontal support bars for supporting the underside central surface of the bird bath. The bird bath simply rests on top of the bird bath holder. The holder can also be designed to provide a positive snap-in engagement of the bird bath over the support ring for resisting dislodgement of the bird bath from the bird bath holder.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a complete modular system that allows the customer to custom design their birding pole. The modules disclosed allow the user to vary the height of their birding pole. The customer can also pick and choose the accessories they would like to mount to the pole, and can even choose some customized accessories such as a banner module or a sign module for varying the appearance of the pole.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.